Eligibility Checklist
Funding Required
Please note that the lower limit for funding is £50,000. If you
require less than £50,000 please refer to other sources of
funding.
Location
To be eligible for the this fund your business needs to be situated
within the North West of England. Specifically, this is Cumbria,
Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside or Cheshire. If
you are not located in, or re-locating to, one of these counties
you are not eligible. The North West Fund is only
available to support businesses located in the North West of
England
Please click to view a detailed map of the North West.
Business Size
The North West Fund is designed to support the region's Small and
Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). Please click for information on the definition of
an SME. If you have 250 or more employees you are not
eligible. The definition of an SME, as outlined by the
European Union is:
- Up to 249 employees
- Annual business turnover not exceeding €50m (euros)
- Balance sheet total not exceeding €43m (euros)
For information about other sources of finance and support for your business please visit Business Link North West.
Business Plan
To progress an application through one of our Fund Managers you
will need to provide an overview of your Business Plan. If you need
help with developing a business plan contact Business Link Northwest on 0845 00 66 888.
Alternatively download our Business Plan Template.
Loan Funding
If you require loan only funding of £50,000 to
£750,000 you may qualify for support via the North West fund for
Business Loans. Loan funding of £50,000 to
£750,000 is available for innovative, viable, Small and
Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) seeking debt finance, specifically
those finding difficulty in obtaining debt finance from traditional
sources. Applicants will need to show a clear vision for
growth or innovation articulated in their business plan and must
demonstrate their ability to service the loan. Repayment terms will
typically be from 3 to 5 years. Business assets may be taken
as security, at the Fund Manager's discretion; this may also
include personal guarantees
Energy & Environmental
If your business is engaged in the Energy & Environmental
sector (including nuclear, smart grids, tidal, SSL, offshore wind,
biomass, energy management in buildings, water/wastewater, waste
and recycling, photovoltaics, alternative fuels and carbon capture
and storage) then you may qualify for support via the North
West Fund for Energy & Environmental. This sector
growth fund provides a flexible equity package, which can include
Mezzanine Finance (loans linked to equity) from £50k to
£2m. This type of funding is particularly helpful to
fast growing innovative businesses in the Energy and Environmental
sectors which have been unable to attract growth capital from
traditional sources.
Biomedical
If your business is engaged in the Biomedical sector (including
pharmaceuticals (research,, development and manufacture of drugs
and biopharmaceuticals), biotechnology, diagnostics, clinical
research organisations, analytical services and sciences and
healthcare tehcnologies and medical devices) then you may qualify
for support via the North West Fund for Biomedical. This
sector growth fund provides a flexible equity package, which can
include Mezzanine Finance (loans linked to equity) from
£50k to £1.5m. This type of funding is
particularly helpful to fast growing innovative businesses in the
Biomedical sectors which have been unable to attract growth capital
from traditional sources.
Digital & Creative
If your business is engaged in the Digital & Creative sector
(including advertising, architecture, arts, antiques, crafts,
design, designer fashion, digital & ICT, music, publishing,
radio and television, software, computer games and electronic
publishing, video, film and photography and visual and performing
arts) then you may qualify for support via the North West
Fund for Digital & Creative. This sector growth fund
provides a flexible equity package, which can include Mezzanine
Finance (loans linked to equity) from £50k to
£1.5m. This type of funding is particularly helpful
to fast growing innovative businesses in the Digitla and Creative
sectors which have been unable to attract growth capital from
traditional sources.
Start-up
If your business is a start-up seekingpre-revenue or "first round"
finance to support development and commercialisation for its
products and services you may qualify for support by the North West Fund
for Venture Capital. The Venture Capital Fund provides a
flexible equity package, which can include Mezzanine Finance (loans
linked to equity), from £50K to £2
million. This type of funding is
particularly helpful to fast growing innovative businesses which
have been unable to attract growth capital from traditional
sources. In return Fund Managers will seek to take an equity
stake in the business.
Business Expansion
If your business requires investment capital to support business
expansion you may qualify for support by the North West
Fund for mezzanine Capital. The Mezzanine Fund
provides a flexible equity package, which can include loans linked
to equity from £750K to £2 million. This
type of funding is particularly helpful to trading businesses
seeking finance to support expansion plans. In return Fund
Managers will seek to take an equity stake in the business.
Other Funding sources
For information on other types of European Funding please follow the links below:
http://www.msif.co.uk/small_loans.htm - Merseyside Special Investment Fund
http://www.business-finance-solutions.org.uk/ - Business Finance Solutions
http://www.bbvonline.net/funding.asp - Bolton Business Ventures
http://www.tself.org.uk/northwest.html - The Social Enterprise Loan Fund
http://www.ccart.org.uk/products.htm - Cumbria Asset Reinvestment Trust
Other
If you require general business support - not linked to the product funds offered by NWBF - please contact Business Link North West on 0845 00 66 888.
